Two days later, Qian Fei received a call from Sister Jin during work hours. She stepped outside into the corridor to take it.
Sister Jin sounded full of remorse over the phone: "Feifei, I heard about Hu Zining cheating on you and your breakup. What a mess! Who’d have thought that fair-skinned, clean-cut boy would turn out like this? I feel terrible for putting you through this. It’s all my fault—I should’ve introduced you to someone better!"
Qian Fei quickly reassured her: "Sister Jin, please don’t say that! No one at the company cares about me as much as you do. Even Hu Zining’s own mother probably didn’t know he’d cheat—how could you have known? If you blame yourself for something that’s not even your fault, how can I ever ask you to set me up again?"
Sister Jin sighed twice: "Ah, I really don’t dare introduce anyone to you anymore! At least you found out now—imagine if you’d married him. I’d have ruined your life!"
Qian Fei cut her off: "No way, Sister Jin! You’ve got to get back on the horse where you fell. Since you feel bad, just find me someone even better!"
Sister Jin, initially weighed down by guilt, couldn’t help laughing at this. After a chuckle, she said wistfully: "Feifei, how can such a wonderful girl like you never meet the right person?"
The last sentence struck a chord. Qian Fei’s eyes stung suddenly, but she forced herself to say: "Guess my fate hasn’t arrived yet!"
Hanging up, she sniffled hard and headed back to the office.
Head down, rubbing her eyes, she turned a corner and— thud —ran straight into someone.
"Sorry!" she blurted, looking up to see Li Yifei blocking the turn with a smirk, eyelids drooping as he eyed her.
"Faking cheerfulness?" he drawled.
Annoyed, Qian Fei shoved him. "Seriously, do you have to be so irritating? And were you eavesdropping?"
Li Yifei didn’t budge. "Hands off—I hate being pushed. And don’t lump me with lowlifes who eavesdrop. I was being considerate—what if it was that Hu guy? I worried you’d lose the argument."
Qian Fei burst out laughing: "When you’re being nice, you’re such a busybody!"
Li Yifei rolled his eyes, muttered "ungrateful," and strode off.
Qian Fei followed. Suddenly, a flicker at the edge of her vision made her pause. She glanced toward the intersecting corridor.
A slender, long-haired figure was walking away in the distance.
She froze, sensing an aura of resentment from that retreating back.
Distractedly, she heard Li Yifei say abruptly ahead: "I won’t be home for dinner tonight."
Snapping back, she replied: "Oh? I’d love it if you never came home for dinner!"
※※※※※※
That evening, Dajun took Li Yifei to South Beauty.
Entering, Li Yifei asked: "Why pick such a quiet place today?"
Dajun said: "Need to talk seriously with you in peace."
Li Yifei shrugged: "My place would’ve been better. The tomboy’s cooking eggplant tonight—way tastier than here."
Dajun nearly choked, gaping at him: "Young master, your standards are plummeting!"
Li Yifei kicked him. "Spit it out."Da Jun picked up his chopsticks, "Let me have a bite first," he said, grabbing a piece of boiled fish and popping it into his mouth. "The boiled fish here is about the only decent thing they serve!"
Li Yifei followed suit, picking up a piece of fish to taste.
After tasting it, he turned his head and noticed Da Jun staring at him with a dumbfounded expression, his mouth agape, and his chopsticks slipping from his fingers onto the table.
"I forgot to wait for you to scoop the food into your bowl before digging in! But the real question is, bro, what's gotten into you? Since when do you start eating from dishes others have touched?! You never eat from shared plates!!! What's wrong with you? Did someone kick your brain? Tell me you're still you and not some alien possessing your body!!!!"
Li Yifei was momentarily stunned by his outburst.
If Da Jun hadn't mentioned it, he wouldn’t have noticed—lately, at home, he hadn’t been scooping food into his own bowl. Instead, he and that tomboy had been sharing dishes, taking turns picking at the stir-fried eggplant strips with their chopsticks.
When had he become so comfortable with her, treating her like a sibling without any reservations? He hadn’t even realized it himself.
Straightening his expression, he raised an eyebrow and said, "What’s the big deal? I just forgot for a moment!" He set down his chopsticks and asked Da Jun, "Hurry up, what did you want to talk about?"
Da Jun snapped out of his exaggerated state and turned serious. "Yifei, let’s team up and do something. Money sitting in the bank isn’t even money anymore—it’s depreciating faster than plain paper! Buying property used to be a good investment, but with rumors of a property tax coming, even real estate’s becoming a hot potato. We can’t just sit back and watch our hard-earned cash lose value day by day, can we? Shouldn’t we do something about it?"
Li Yifei shot him a look. "Talk to someone else about this. The old man kicked me out—I don’t have any capital."
Da Jun slung an arm over his shoulder. "I’m not about to suggest you go sweet-talk the old man for money—you’d probably punch me. Here’s the deal: I’ll provide the funds, and you come up with money-making ideas. We’ll split the profits, and you can earn some extra cash to annoy the old man with!"
Li Yifei felt a flicker of interest.
"Alright, I’ll think it over and plan something out."
Da Jun relaxed. "Now that business is settled, let’s talk about something even more important! So, buddy, how’s it going with that girl Jin Tian?"
Li Yifei chewed on his food thoughtfully. "Good. Sweet, pretty, sensible, not clingy."
Da Jun wiggled his eyebrows. "Compared to your little 'true love'?"
Li Yifei snorted. "She wasn’t like this before either—she used to be sweet, pretty, and sensible too. Who knew she’d turn into a nagging mess once we got back to the country?"
Da Jun shook his head and sighed. "You know what they say—poverty grinds down even the strongest love! Back then, did she ever have to lift a finger? Honestly, why not just hire a housekeeper to handle the chores? Why fight over trivial stuff to the point of cursing each other’s ancestors? Even broke, you can afford that much, right?"
Li Yifei glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. "Hiring help wouldn’t be a problem, but I wanted to see how much hardship a woman could endure living with me. And guess what? A little housework was all it took to drive her into another man’s bed. Pathetic."Li Yifei put down his chopsticks, unable to eat another bite.
"Sometimes I really hate that old man of mine. He sees through everything—said Gui Lili wasn’t the right one, and sure enough, she wasn’t. Said she’d only share the good times but never the struggle, and that’s exactly how it turned out. And he even said I couldn’t make it without him! I really wanted to prove him wrong, but one thing after another just kept proving him right. Now the only thing left is his claim that I’m not good enough. No matter what, I have to hold on—I can’t let him be right about this too! I won’t let my own father look down on me!"
Dajun hadn’t seen this side of Li Yifei in a long time—rebellious, cynical, yet deadly serious. As he observed him, he realized that Li Yifei’s defiance and nonchalance weren’t the same as before. In the past, his arrogance had stemmed from his innate privilege and wealth. But now, it came from a deep-seated pride, a determination to prove he could carve out his own path.
At this moment, Dajun thought Li Yifei looked absolutely badass.
"Hey man, do me a favor—don’t give me that serious face around me. I might start falling for you!"
The moment Dajun finished speaking, Li Yifei spat out a mouthful of water right into his face. "Can you not be such a jerk?"
※※※※※※
Qian Fei suddenly felt that eating dinner alone was a bit lonely.
The thought startled her. If she was starting to feel dependent on a tenant, that would be really bad.
While washing the dishes, she recalled the disgusting things Hu Zining had said.
It seemed that continuing to live alone with Li Yifei wasn’t appropriate anymore.
She decided it was time to have a serious talk with him about moving out.
※※※※※※
The moment Li Yifei got home, he could tell something was off about Qian Fei.
Her hesitant, faltering manner made it seem like she was hiding something.
After changing into his pajamas, Li Yifei sat on the living room couch watching TV.
Qian Fei drifted out of her room like a ghost, hovering near the couch before stopping, forcing a laugh, and saying, "You’re back, huh?" Then she fell silent, frozen in an expression torn between "Should I say it?" and "Maybe I shouldn’t," before drifting back into her room.
The second time she emerged, she said, "Dinner’s ready, huh!" Then, with the same constipated look, she retreated again.
The third time, she said, "You’ve eaten, huh!" Hesitated, then left.
The fourth time, just as she finished asking, "Did you eat well?" and was about to shuffle away, Li Yifei grabbed her impatiently.
"Do you have any idea how many times you’ve floated around like a slipper-wearing ghost in front of me? Spit it out—did you do something, or are you about to do something, to screw me over?"
Qian Fei shivered.
Whether she spoke up or not, sooner or later, she’d have to confront him and kick him out. She steeled herself and took a deep breath, ready to speak—
"You’re not scheming to kick me out, are you?" Li Yifei cut in before she could say anything.
Qian Fei deflated instantly.
"How did you know what I was going to say…?"Li Yifei impatiently shoved her aside, "Stop blocking the TV! Go look in the mirror—your face is practically screaming 'Li Yifei, get the hell out of here' in bold letters. I'm not blind."
Qian Fei stared blankly at her arm.
He had just pushed her aside like she was some unnecessary object, not even bothering to look at her...
And while doing this, the topic they were discussing was her, as the landlord, wanting him, the tenant, to move out...
Just whose damn house was this anyway?
Qian Fei was furious!
"Li Yifei, when are you moving out?" She planted herself in front of the TV.
Li Yifei lounged lazily on the sofa, not bothering to get up, and stretched out a long leg to nudge her aside. "I told you not to block the TV! I'll move when I've saved enough to buy a villa."
Qian Fei was nudged aside by his foot.
She froze for a moment, lamenting her lack of balance.
She stepped back in front of the TV. "Li Yifei, if you keep living here, my chastity will be completely ruined in the eyes of the world! Can't you just find another place to live? Please?"
Li Yifei rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Why do you have to stand in front of the TV? Do you have any idea how annoying that is? I'm not moving! I'm used to living here!"
Qian Fei watched him act like a spoiled brat and felt her anger rising. "You're used to it, but I'm not! I'm seriously troubled here, dude! People are saying I'm keeping a toy boy! Hey, can you stop watching TV for a second? Li Yifei, do I have to kneel and beg you to move out?"
Li Yifei dug around in his pajama pockets and somehow pulled out over seventy yuan. He held it out to her. "Here, don't say I'm not generous. Take this after you kneel."
Qian Fei was practically hyperventilating. "Li Yifei, what will it take for you to move out?"
Li Yifei stretched his leg out again to push her aside. "Be reasonable and let me watch TV in peace. I'll raise the rent starting next month!"
Qian Fei yelled, "Raising the rent won't help! You still have to move out! Raising the rent... how much are we talking?"
Without taking his eyes off the TV, Li Yifei said, "Nine hundred."
Qian Fei scoffed. "For the whole quarter? I don't care!"
Still not looking at her, Li Yifei said, "Nine hundred a month."
Qian Fei paused, then asked, "So... what do you want for dinner tomorrow night?"
Li Yifei tilted his head and shot her an exasperated look. "Not kicking me out anymore?"
Qian Fei put on a righteous expression. "Why would I? The pure stay pure! Besides, having a handsome guy like you around to admire every day for free—I'm totally winning here!"
Li Yifei narrowed his eyes and looked at her smugly, clicking his tongue in exaggerated praise. "Look at this kid—where did she learn to have such good taste?"
Author's Note: Thank you all for your support and encouragement! I'll work even harder to write more as thanks! >3
Hah, look at this kid—where did she learn to have such good taste Can Li Yifei get any more shameless
Next chapter will have a dramatic twist—one you've all been waiting for. The keyword is: Ugly Duckling Transformation! (Excited? Leave a comment if you are! ^_^)Comments over 25 characters will get 2 points. Content related to the article will earn you bonus points, which can be used to read VIP chapters. The longer your comment, the more points you'll receive~ (Points for the previous chapter may be delayed as I'm still on the highway. Using mobile hotspot to send points would burn through my data plan too quickly.)
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